Alison Brie appears in a scene from “The Rental.”

Editor’s note: With movie theaters limited because of the coronavirus pandemic, Micheal Compton’s reviews will focus on films available for streaming or on demand.

“The Rental” sees actor Dave Franco branching out and making his directorial debut with his first screenplay (sharing screenplay credits with Joe Swanberg).

And while Franco the director shows promise, he is undermined by Franco the writer’s disappointing script that can’t sustain its simple yet intriguing script.

“The Rental” tells the story of two young couples about to embark on a weekend getaway. On the surface, Charlie (Dan Stevens) and Michelle (Alison Brie) seem to be a happily married couple, but a closer look reveals old wounds that still cut deep for both. Mina (Sheila Vand) and Josh (Jeremy Allen White) both have connections to Charlie – his co-worker and younger brother, respectively.

The two couples arrive at their remote Airbnb, and it appears to be the perfect getaway until Mina clashes with the renter (Toby Huss). That clash is only accentuated when the two couples begin to suspect the man is spying on them, setting off fear and paranoia that turns the fun weekend into a fight for survival.

“The Rental” for the most part is well acted and well executed, with Franco showing a knack for creating suspense from behind the lens.

But all of the good will from the acting and directing can’t overcome a script that feels more like a rough draft than a complete work. Franco appears to be attempting to explore some interesting ideas and trying to go deep into these couple’s psyche, but these ideas are never fully developed as the third act evolves into your standard horror movie.

Franco gets more tension out of exploring moral dilemmas of these characters. So much so that when they become the victims you realize you don’t really like them that much, so their plight lacks the emotional connection with the audience that it really needs to make the third act work. It also doesn’t help that these seemingly smart people start doing typical dumb horror movie things.

Even that could have ultimately been forgiven if the payoff had been somewhat satisfying.

It falls short of satisfaction, even for horror fans, with “The Rental” teasing its audience with what could have been for about an hour before going off the rails in a disappointing conclusion.

Starring: Alison Brie, Dan Stevens

Directed by: Dave Franco

Rating: R for violence, language throughout, drug use and some sexuality

Playing at: Available on Video on Demand

Grade: C+